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The Healing Wisdom of Africa: Finding Life Purpose Through Nature, Ritual and Community » (Reprint)

Book cover image of The Healing Wisdom of Africa: Finding Life Purpose Through Nature, Ritual and Community by Malidoma Patrice Patrice Some

Authors: Malidoma Patrice Patrice Some, L. M. Some
ISBN-13: 9780874779912, ISBN-10: 087477991X
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Date Published: September 1999
Edition: Reprint

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Author Biography: Malidoma Patrice Patrice Some

Book Synopsis

A fascinating, detailed journey through the traditional healing practices of West Africa by a beloved shaman and scholar.

"Profoundly wise and fascinating . . . "--Alice Walker

"An amazing bridge over the chasm of modern isolation."--Jack Kornfield

Through The Healing Wisdom of Africa, readers can come to understand that the life of indigenous and traditional people is a paradigm for an intimate relationship with the natural world that both surrounds us and is within us. The book is the most complete study of the role ritual plays in the lives of African people--and the role it can play for seekers in the West.

* illustrated with 8 pages of black-and-white photographs

Table of Contents

Introduction: Living in Two Worlds1
PART ONE: HEALING IN THE INDIGENOUS WORLD
1. Healing, Ritual, and Community21
2. The Healing Power of Nature37
3. Indigenous Technologies59
PART TWO: RELATIONSHIPS OF HEALING: THE COMMUNITY
4. The Value of a Healthy Community85
5. Mentors and the Life of Youth101
6. Elders and the Community121
PART THREE: UNDERSTANDING RITUAL
7. The Elements of Ritual141
8. Dagara Cosmology and Ritual163
9. Preparing for Ritual189
PART FOUR: RITUALS OF HEALING
10. Fire Rituals205
11. Water Rituals217
12. Earth Rituals231
13. Mineral Rituals243
14. Nature Rituals257
PART FIVE: HEALING IN THE WESTERN WORLD
15.Initiation: A Response to Challenges of the West275
16. Maintaining Community Through Ritual293
Index315

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